


Exchange

by Whymsical



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Exchange Program, High School AU, M/M, USUK - Freeform, only a lil bit though, prucan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2014-11-14
Packaged: 2018-02-23 02:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2530106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whymsical/pseuds/Whymsical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is an unwilling Exchange student, and Alfred is his unwilling Host. When they come together, can they change their reluctance to something else? Highschool AU, but not World Academy or the like. USUK.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And another old-new story! I wrote this myself, no RP this time. It's about the same length as Britannia's Mistake, but the chapters here will be shorter and there'll be more of them. Human AU with an Exchange program. Fun. Enjoy!

Arthur Kirkland was not a happy student. He was 16, in Year 12 (He had skipped a grade level back in primary school), and his parents had signed him up for an exchange program. To America.

His parents had claimed they were doing it to get him to be more outgoing, to get some cultural variety, and perhaps even to make a friend. To Arthur, it was more of an inconvenience. He was near the top of his class, and so what if he was more the reclusive, bookish type? He was fine being a loner and preferred his own company to anyone else's. But he had virtually no choice in the matter, so there he was at the airport.

* * *

Alfred F. Jones was having a similar problem. His high school, instead of having more...normal exchange programs to France, Italy, or Spain, had decided to set up one with England. Because someone from England definitely would want to come here to the middle of nowhere, Maine.

His older, half-brother Matthew had brought up the program one night over dinner, and their mother was instantly hooked. She had, of course, forgotten about Matthew almost immediately after and focused on getting Alfred to agree to it. The younger blond protested greatly, but his words had just bounced off into nothingness, and less than a week later, he was signed up. Luckily his mother had only signed him up to host, and not actually go over to England later. So now he was at the airport with his mother and Matthew, waiting for the Brit that would share his home for the next two weeks.

* * *

Arthur, having collected his suitcase, looked around the reception area for any indication as to who he was to go with. After a moment he spotted a small white sign with his name scrawled on it. He had seen those signs in some of the very few American movies he'd watched, but he never expected that anyone would ever be holding one up for him. He felt kind of silly as his green eyes roamed over it and also the three people standing underneath it.

The sign itself was being held by a pretty woman with long dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes that looked to be in her late thirties. Two boys stood slightly behind her. They looked very similar, with the only differences between them being with their hair and eyes. One of them had longer, more wavy hair with a looping stray piece that fell forward into his face and purple-blue eyes. He seemed the calmer of the pair, looked a tad bit older, and was reading a 'Golden Words' magazine. Arthur hoped that was Alfred, especially when he took in the other boy. This one was slightly taller and more muscular with shorter, straighter hair that had a weird cowlick that seemed to defy gravity. The Brit couldn't tell what color his eyes were because his head was down as he texted constantly, one foot tapping impatiently. There were headphones over his ears and his head bobbed slightly to a fast tune.

Arthur forced a pleasant expression onto his face as he walked over to the trio. "Hello, would you happen to be Alfred F. Jones's mother?" he asked, addressing the woman.

She brightened up. "Yup, that's me! From your accent, I take it you're Arthur Kirkland?"

"The one and only." Arthur replied dryly, trying a stab at humor. From the woman's chuckles, it seemed to have worked.

"Wonderful! Glad we found you. There are my sons Matthew," She gestured to the boy reading the magazine, who nodded to Arthur as Arthur internally groaned. "And this is- Alfred, put away that infernal device!" She tugged the headphones off Alfred's head and elbowed him. "Say hello to your guest."

Arthur looked at Alfred again as the American grumbled and stuck his phone into his pocket. He then finally looked up and Arthur could see that his eyes were a brilliant sky blue. "Hello." he said crisply, not giving Alfred a chance to speak first.

Alfred looked down into Arthur's face and did a double-take, blinking to make sure what he saw was real. "Dude, what's wrong with your eyebrows?" he asked, quiet enough so that his mother didn't hear.

"T-There's nothing wrong with them!" Arthur hissed back, resisting the urge to reach up and touch them or cover them. Sure, they were slightly thicker than average, but they weren't  _that_  bad. The whole Kirkland family had them, from the maternal side.

"There's no way those are natural... I'm Alfred, by the way. Nice to meet ya." Alfred said, sticking out his hand.

Arthur thought the action was a little forced. "No, you know I was just looking for the other Alfred F. Jones." he snapped back as he quickly shook the proffered hand, but the sarcasm flew over the American's head.

"Well, let's go now, eh? No point in wasting time here..." Matthew suddenly cut in, his voice naturally quiet.

They all jumped slightly at his voice, and the boys' mother quickly agreed. Alfred, losing interest in Arthur quite quickly, immediately bounded away while Matthew stayed behind to walk with Arthur.

"Is he always like that?" Arthur asked, still slightly mad about the eyebrows comment.

Matthew gave him a small, knowing smile. "Similar. But don't worry, you'll get used to it. Sorry about the eyebrows comment...though they are a bit noticeable."

Arthur grew flustered again until he realized that Matthew had meant it in a good-natured way, and then he relaxed slightly. " _You_  don't have anything to apologize for."

Alfred led the way to the Jones's car, a tan Ford Explorer. He immediately claimed the shotgun seat and hopped into the car. Matthew and his mother helped Arthur get his suitcase into the trunk, which was quite heavy due to all the books he'd taken along. Once that was done, the Brit turned to the woman.

"I don't think I've said this before, but thank you for letting me stay with you in your home, Mrs. Jones." he said politely, gentleman that he was.

"Of course, and Arthur dear, don't call me Mrs. Jones or anything like that. My name is Evelyn." she declared, smiling at him before getting in.

It was a short drive to the Jones residence which was at the very edge of a thick forest. The house was an average size and typical American style, and it was pained a pristine white. There was a wrap-around porch spanning three sides of it, a place that Arthur immediately deemed an excellent reading spot during a rainstorm. A small garage, separate from the house, stood a few feet away from it.

Once they parked, Alfred tried going straight into the house, but a pointed cough from Evelyn stopped him and sent him back to the trunk of the car.

"Here Artie, I'll take that for you." he informed the Brit off-handedly, grabbing the suitcase and unceremoniously lugging it up the front steps.

"My name's Arthur, not Artie!" Arthur called, hurrying after him. "And careful with that!"

"Yeah, but Arthur's a mouthful and Artie's much cooler." Alfred grunted slightly as he went up the steps. "The hell do you have in here anyway? This thing weighs like, a ton!"

"There may be a few books in there, so go easy!"

Alfred stopped by the door and turned to stare at him, looking him full in the face for the first time since that brief moment at the airport. "You brought  _books_  with you on an exchange trip? Dude, it's not gonna be that boring here."

Arthur crossed his arms. "I bring a few books everywhere with me, just in case."

"I think it's nice that you like reading so much, Arthur." Evelyn said, coming up behind them to open the door. "You must be pretty high up in your class, grade-wise. Who knows, you might even rub off on Alfred a bit while you're here." she added with a wink.

"Mo-om, I do read!" Alfred protested.

"Oh really?" Arthur got interested. "What do you read?"

Alfred shifted uncomfortably for a moment before grinning. "Comics! Like Superman and Captain America and stuff!"

"Not surprising..." Arthur muttered.

Evelyn opened the door and Alfred pushed through, finally setting the suitcase down by the stairs. Arthur entered next, glancing around at the door. The rooms were sparsely but nicely decorated, with simple but elegant furniture and splashes of color scattered around.

"Alfred will show you where the guest room is. You just take your time and make yourself comfortable. I'll call you down when dinner's ready." Evelyn said with a pointed glance at the taller boy.

Arthur quickly walked to the suitcase and hefted it. "I can manage this. You just show me the way."

Alfred shrugged and led him up, pausing on the stairs to wait for him. When it seemed like the Brit was struggling, he offered a helping hand but Arthur waved it away. When he finally managed to get to the top of the stairs, Alfred started down the hall.

"On the right is my mom's room and bathroom, so don't go down there. To the left here is Mattie's room, a shared bathroom, my room, and you'll sleep here." Alfred stopped by the last room in the hall and opened the door, revealing a small, quaint room. Before Arthur could move, he walked inside and plopped down on the bed, bouncing around a little bit. "Whadda ya think?"

Arthur stepped into the room slowly and looked around. There was a bed (with now-rumpled sheets, courtesy of Alfred), a desk, a dresser, a bookcase, and a reading chair. The walls were painted a blueish shade of grey and a deep red rug was spread over the floor.

"It's nice..." he said quietly, and then his eyes fell on an object on the bed next to Alfred's arm. It was a small pillow, with a case in the image of a Union Jack. "What's this?" he asked, going to over to pick it up.

"Oh that. My mom got it a few days ago. To make you feel more at home, y'know?" Alfred replied, bouncing up. "Well, gotta go now. You unpack and stuff. I'll be in my room, so you can come by when you're done if you want." He got up and left, going to his room and plugging in a video game.

When he was gone, Arthur tidied up the bed and placed the pillow in the middle of the sheets before starting to unpack. He left most of his clothes inside his suitcase, taking out only the books and stacking them neatly on the desk. When he was done with that, he went over to Alfred's room, where the door was ajar. The boy's room was an utter mess. Clothes and comic books were strewn all over and the bed was just a mass of tangled sheets. Alfred himself was sitting in front of his TV, playing a bloody game and talking to someone named Gilbert, so Arthur left without saying a word and went downstairs. Since he was already in America and there was nothing he could do about it, he decided to make the best of it and talked for a while with Evelyn and Matthew.

When Alfred came down half an hour later for dinner, he didn't seem at all fazed that Arthur hadn't come to his room. The Brit didn't know whether to be relieved or offended by that. Alfred did most of the talking, telling them about what was going on at school and with his friends. Arthur felt slightly out of place, but he didn't let that show in his expression.

"I'll help clean up." he said once he'd finished eating, standing up with his empty plate and cup.

"Arthur dear, that won't be necessary." Evelyn protested, but he was firm in his standings.

In the end, Alfred washed the dishes while he carefully dried them. After that was done, Evelyn insisted that Arthur go straight to bed because he was probably exhausted from his flight and had to be well rested for school tomorrow.

Arthur groaned slightly at the prospect of going to an American school, but he nodded and complied, only stopping on his way by the bathroom to wash up. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second part! And some more interactions.

School was definitely an interesting experience. There were quite a few international kids attending, and Alfred seemed to know most of them. His best friends were an albino German boy who insisted he was Prussian, a French guy, a Spanish guy, and surprisingly, a quiet Japanese boy. The Prussian, who Arthur found out was the Gilbert Alfred had been talking to the night before and Francis, the French boy, were decidedly the most annoying. Alfred seemed to be closest to Gilbert though, seeing as they played video games together so often.

"So you're the one Alfred's stuck with?" Gilbert asked the moment Alfred had introduced them.

Arthur bristled. "I'm not exactly thrilled to be here either." he snapped back, his grip tightening on his books.

Alfred looked up suddenly at that, seemingly wanting to say something, but after a moment he turned away.

The other two of the self-dubbed group the 'Bad Touch Trio' were no better, and Arthur's morning spiraled downwards from there. The Brit was convinced that Francis had tried to feel him up numerous times, and Antonio, the Spanish guy, simply babbled the whole time about tomatoes and someone named Lovino. Kiku, the Japanese boy, seemed to be the only sane one of the group. Arthur discovered that the raven-haired boy loved reading (especially manga) and video games, which is how he came to be friends with Alfred. The video games, that is, not the reading.

The rest of the school didn't help improve Arthur's mood either. In every class, the teacher insisted that Arthur introduce himself and tell the rest of the students about school and life in England. The whole thing seemed rather ridiculous to him, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Right before lunch, Alfred pulled him into a bathroom. He then stood by the sink, shifting nervously on his feet.

"Yes? Why did you bring me here?" Arthur asked flatly, slowly edging towards the door.

"H-Hey, wait!" Alfred cried out, reaching forward and stopping him. "What you said before...y'know, about not being happy to be here? Is...Is it cuz of me?"

Arthur stared up at him incredulously. "What?"

"I don't want ya to feel unwelcome or anything...and I was kinda being a bad host..." Alfred bit his lip and stepped back, watching him intently.

"N-No, it's not you." Arthur replied. He found he had to avert his eyes from the American's gaze. "To be honest, I didn't really want to participate in the Exchange at all, no matter who my host ended up as."

"O-Oh." Alfred didn't know whether he felt relieved about that, or even worse. On one hand, he was glad he wasn't the cause of Arthur's negative attitude towards America, but the fact that the Brit hadn't even wanted to come well... He shook his head and stepped back. "Well, alright then. C'mon, I bet you're hungry, right?" he said brightly, going out of the bathroom.

Arthur followed him out to the cafeteria. He walked through the doors and immediately winced at the sudden increase in volume. He tapped the taller blond on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" Alfred asked, stopping and turning around.

"Could you take me to the library? It's awfully loud in here."

"Uh...I don't actually know...where the library is?" Alfred replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

Arthur stared at him. "You don't know- that doesn't really surprise me, actually."

"Heh...but I could totally help ya find it!" Alfred grinned. "Cuz I'm the hero and all."

"That won't be necessary. I'll manage in here." Arthur replied, shaking his head. "Where do you sit?"

Alfred abruptly grabbed onto Arthur's arm and dragged him out of the room. "Nope, we're gonna find that library!" he declared, going down a random hallway.

"A-Alfred, really!" Arthur protested, but there was nothing he could really do to get out of his grip. "There is no need to do this!"

But Alfred had just spotted his English teacher, and he barreled off towards her. "Mrs. Clark!" The woman turned and he stopped abruptly before her, sending Arthur crashing into his back. "Do you know where the library is? My buddy from England wants to know where it is, and I kinda forgot the way."

The amused teacher carefully explained how to get to the school library, which actually wasn't that far from where they were currently standing.

"Hahaha, see? The hero knows where he's going!" Alfred crowed before thanking his teacher and pulling Arthur along again.

The Brit stayed silent the whole way, not really feeling the need to respond to such thoughts. His scowl disappeared and he broke out into a small smile when he saw the size of the library, though. The room was big and even had a second story to it, which was mostly filled with plush chairs and couches for reading, and tables for anyone who wanted to get some work done.

"It's positively massive." he whispered, because he always thought that whispers were the most appropriate form of communication in rooms such as this. "How the hell did you not know where it was?"

"Dunno, didn't really have to come here before." Alfred replied, shrugging. His voice was incredibly loud by comparison, and seemed to echo and bounce throughout the room.

After a few more moments, Arthur snapped out of his daze. "Thank you for showing me the way, I appreciate the gesture. You can let go of me now." He blushed slightly as he said this. "And you can return to your mates."

"Naw, you'd get lost once lunch was over. I'll stay with you today!" Alfred led the way inside, and almost immediately his eyes fell on the comics and graphic novel section. "Whoa, they have Superman and Cap and stuff!" he said excitedly.

Arthur snorted. "Of course they do, this is a library. Now keep your voice down." He went over to the poetry section and took down a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's works.

"Hey, isn't that guy's stuff like, really depressing or something?" Alfred asked. He had followed the other to the poetry shelves after gathering up some comics.

"Perhaps, but it's quality literature, which is surprising given that he's American." Arthur took the book over to one of the tables and settled down.

"Wha- no way! He was awesome cuz he was American!"

"Oh yes, so 'awesome' that he died penniless on the streets. Now stay quiet, I came here for a reason." Arthur shot back, and then promptly ignored him for the rest of lunch.

Alfred tried to get him to talk some more, but after a few minutes of unresponsiveness, he gave up and opened one of the comic books. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, he put the books away and stretched.

"Come on, Artie, we gotta go to my next class."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and soon they were riding the bus to Alfred's home. Arthur was sitting by the window, watching the Maine scenery pass by. The British boy had to admit this part of America was pretty.

"Arthur, are you gonna stay on 'til the end? My stop's here." Alfred called at one point.

Arthur started and then jumped up, moving quickly to the front of the bus. "Of course not, I'm coming."

"Okay, so my mom probably made us a snack or something, so we're gonna eat and then I've got some homework to do, but after I finish that we can maybe do something together." Alfred explained as they walked. He was determined to spend as much time with Arthur now as he could, seeing as he'd been kind of brusque the day earlier.

Arthur nodded; he was most likely going to end up reading for most of the evening anyway.

Evelyn had some grilled cheese sandwiches for them. Alfred's eyes lit up the moment he saw the plates, but Arthur was a little more hesitant. When he tried it though he found it wasn't that bad.

After their snack Alfred disappeared to his room, and judging from the sounds coming from there, Arthur wasn't sure it was homework that was getting done behind that door. But it wasn't his problem, so he grabbed one of the books he'd brought and went out to the porch. He found that his earlier guess was right, and the couch there was a prime reading spot. It was quiet and on the fresh air, and it offered a nice view to the surrounding forests.

"Whatcha reading?" Alfred suddenly asked.

Arthur started violently, nearly dropping the book. "Bloody- don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Startle me like that!" Arthur huffed crossly. "Besides, don't you have homework to do?"

"...Dude, I've been done for like an hour now. It's 6:30." Alfred said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Arthur blinked. He'd zoned out for over three hours?

Alfred snickered quietly. "So what are ya reading?"

"Return of the King."

"Oh, like from the Lord of the Rings series? Cool! Have you seen the movies?"

Arthur shook his head. "I prefer to read the book before watching the movie." he explained.

Alfred gaped at him for a moment, before suddenly brightening. "Alright, when you finish that, we'll have a Lord of the Rings marathon!"

"That really won't be necessary-"

"Don't worry about it man! I got the DVDs,  _extended_  edition! How much do you have left to read?"

"You  _have_  the DVDs, if anything. Not 'got'." Arthur said, sniffing. "I have about a hundred and fifty pages left."

"Think you'll be able to finish before the weekend? Then we can watch Saturday and sleep in Sunday~!"

"Of course I can. I read about," Arthur quickly flipped through the book. "A hundred pages in the last three hours."

"Whoa, nice. So it's set, out weekend's full. What do you wanna do now?"

"How about dinner?" Matthew asked, joining them on the porch. "Mom's almost done cooking, and it's your turn to set the table, Alfred."

"Wanna help me with that, Artie?" Alfred asked, shooting Arthur a kicked-puppy look.

"No he doesn't, he's your guest and it's  _your_  chore, Al." Matthew said, cutting Arthur off before he could say anything.

Pouting, Alfred went off. A few minutes later, Matthew and Arthur were called in. Dinner was homemade hamburgers, made by Evelyn. Arthur was initially skeptical about them, but once again found that when he took a bite, they were actually very good.

"Do you make them yourself, or are they store-bought?" he asked Evelyn.

"The beef is from the store, but I added the seasoning and such myself." Evelyn replied. "Do you like them?"

"Yes, they're good." Arthur replied honestly.

An impossibly short amount of time later, Alfred was finished and there were no hamburgers left. He'd eaten three, and still looked as if he could eat some more. The rest of them had only had one each.

"How are you done already?" Arthur asked, staring at the empty platter in the middle of the table.

Alfred chuckled. "I'm a fast eater."

"Humph. If you eat so bloody quickly, you won't have time to appreciate the taste."

"I don't needa taste it, I know my mom's cooking rocks." Alfred shot back, a triumphant smile on his face.

Arthur rolled his eyes and stood up with his plate.

"Just set it in the sink, dear. It's Alfred's turn to wash up again." Evelyn called to him.

Arthur nodded and moved off to the kitchen with the plate. A few loud clatters behind him told him that Alfred was following behind with more dishes. The American had taken the load- which seemed like most of the remaining dishes from the table; Arthur marveled at how he managed to balance everything- to the sink. The water soon began flowing. Arthur made a trip to the dining room to collect the last platter from the table, and when he came back he picked up one of the wet plates off the drying rack and rubbed at it with a paper towel.

"You don't have to do that again, Arthur. It'll dry on its own." Alfred said, pausing in his motions.

"Well I want to do  _something_." Arthur muttered. "Hate being a freeloader." he added even more quietly.

Alfred appeared to have heard him, because he sighed softly and nodded. "Okay then. It'll be faster like this anyway."

Their system worked well, and the sink cleared fairly quickly. Alfred's hand accidentally knocked into Arthur's at one point, and the Brit felt a jolt go down his spine. He hurriedly took a step to the side, his cheeks heating up a bit. He didn't even know why he was blushing, but he ducked his head to hide it. He did glance up at Alfred briefly, and wasn't sure what to think when he saw the other boy was flustered as well.

"Alrighty then, so what do you wanna do now?" Alfred asked once the last dish was dried.

"I was under the slight impression that you already had an idea what you wanted to do." Arthur set down the paper towel and crossed his arms.

"Well..." Alfred shifted on his feet.

"You would like to play your video games." Arthur guessed dryly.

"...Kinda..." Alfred gave him a small, sheepish smile. "But we can do whatever you want if you don't want to do that."

Arthur sighed. "I guess you could play while I read. I want to finish the book."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I would like to finish before our marathon." Arthur said, his lips curling upwards slightly.

Alfred grinned broadly in response. "Awesome. But reading's boring, so I'm gonna teach you how to play!"

"Oh dear God, please no." Arthur groaned.

"Yes! C'mon, it'll be fun! Way more fun than reading~!" Alfred grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs, Arthur barely having enough time to grab his book along the way.

"I have no intention of learning to play video games!"

"Just try it! You gotta try new stuff! Tell ya what; if you don't like it after half an hour, you can go back to your boring shit." Alfred reasoned.

"My 'boring shit'? For that, the time is fifteen minutes."

Alfred tried to bring the time back up, but Arthur refused to budge. So the taller boy had to agree to the short time span of fifteen minutes. He led the other up to his room where he plopped down in front of the TV.

"Okay, so we've got a few options. I just got the newest Assassin's Creed, the third one, we could-"

"No." Arthur cut him off, his eyes hard. "Absolutely not."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because no. It is the most idiotic game ever created, and I refuse to have any association with it."

Realization dawned in Alfred's eyes, and he averted his gaze. "Oh. Right. Sorry. We can play a different game."

Some of Arthur's anger disappeared when he took in Alfred's face. He took a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes. "What other games do you have?" he asked gently, coming over to kneel beside the American.

Alfred stared at him, almost surprised that he was so close, but then he brightened up. He listed a whole bunch of video games, most of which had 'Recon' or 'Revenge' or 'Vengeance' in the title.

Arthur picked a random one- not surprisingly it turned out to be a shooting game- and they began. Alfred walked him through the basics of the controller, system, and game. Arthur tuned most of it out, but kept his face attentive. Fifteen minutes passed quickly, but the Brit let him keep talking.

"Oh, look at the time." Alfred started when he noticed the clock. "Got distracted by my amazingly heroic explaining? So what do you think?"

"I still prefer reading." Ignoring the first part of the statement, Arthur ran his fingertips down the spine of the book.

Alfred shrugged slightly. He had tried, at least. "Could you stay in here and read though?"

Arthur hesitated, and then went over to sit on the bed. "I guess I could..."

"Awesome!" Alfred grinned and turned back to the game.

There was mostly silence in the room (apart from the sounds of the video game, of course), the quiet only broken by the creaking of the bedsprings as Arthur shifted to get to a more comfortably position, and his voice when he told Alfred to turn the volume down. He was so absorbed in the book that he didn't notice any of the occasional glances the taller blond threw his way. But this silence, like all other silences, was meant to be totally and utterly shattered.

"Hey Alfred, I thought you could use some awesome company!" Gilbert's loud voice came over the TV, startling the both of them.

"What's up, Gil? How did you know what game I was playing?" Alfred asked once he'd recovered. He shot Arthur an apologetic glance, who merely shrugged and turned back to his pages.

"Birdie told me. I called him, and he could hear the sounds from outside your door." Gilbert replied, and his character proceeded to kill Alfred's.

"Hey dude! Not cool!" Alfred protested. "Birdie, hmm? Oh, you mean Mattie?"

"Kesesese, that was totally awesome!" Gilbert snickered. "But anyways, how's the Brit?"

Arthur's head shot up at that, but he quickly masked the motion by ducking down again and pretending to still be engrossed in the words.

Alfred glanced at him, having seen the movement. He put his headphones on before answering. "He's pretty cool, actually."

In the silence that must have been Gilbert answering, Arthur stood and quietly left the room. He didn't want to hear anymore of what were most likely lies. He knew he was dull and boring. Alfred didn't even notice he was gone, which was good. A few minutes later, though, curiosity overtook him and he crept back to the door.

"...I'm serious, Gil, hey, don't laugh! Yeah, he's reading now." A pause. "Return of the King. It's one of the Lord of the Rings books. We're gonna have a marathon for the movies this weekend! It's gonna be totally awesome!" Silence again. "No, you can't come." Another, longer pause. "Just cuz you're not there doesn't make it unawesome." There was the sound of prolonged rapid gunfire. "Take that! Wha- he's not a dork! I think it's kinda cute- Oh, he's not here, good. Shaddup, I don't mean it that way-"

Arthur pulled away from the door. "Curiosity killed the cat, eh?" he muttered to himself as he padded to his room and opened his laptop.

After getting the internet password from Evelyn, he logged on and pulled up Skype. His mother had insisted tht he call as soon as he could, no matter the time. Right now it was about two in the morning there, but his brother Scott would most likely be up. If he wasn't, well, he soon would be. He clicked on his brother's name and jumped at the loud call volume.

"Blast-" He quickly turned the volume down and waited. He didn't have to sit there long.

"Do ye know what bleedin' time it is?" Scott's scowling face appeared on the screen.

Arthur smirked. "It's only 8:15 here."

"Don't be such a smartass, poof. Why are you calling?" Scott asked, his scowl deepening.

"Mum asked me to. When I got here."

"You landed yesterday. Shoulda called then."

"I didn't have time to. There's a bloody time difference, and I was tired."

Scott didn't look impressed. "You got Mum worried."

"Well tell her not to worry. I am perfectly fine." Arthur paused. "I see you're not drunk. What a surprise."

It was Scott's turn to smirk. "Oh, I drank. I can just hold my alcohol better than some people." The redhead held up a nearly empty bottle as proof.

Arthur went slightly red. Even though he was underage, he'd gotten drunk numerous times. "I can hold my liquor perfectly well, thank you very much,"

"In your dreams, maybe."

"Sh-Shut up, I can!" Arthur hissed.

Scott raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. "Mmhmm. But tell me, have you found any poofter friends?"

"No, I didn't come here for that."

"You haven't told them yet, have you?" Scott took a long drink. "That you're queer."

Arthur shifted uncomfortably. "It's none of their business. And what I tell them is none of yours!"

Scott smirked again. "'Course it is, you're my dear wee brother."

"Don't use sarcasm with me, I can detect it. I have nothing more to say to you. Good night." He ended the call just as his brother started protesting.

Arthur leaned back in his chair with a sigh, closing his eyes. He suddenly shot back up, though, when he heard quiet footsteps receding from his door. He rushed to the doorway and flung it open.

Alfred, who was by his own door, froze. "Oh...hey Arthur." he said, a small, guilty smile on his face.

Arthur's stomach turned. He'd heard about the level of tolerance for homosexuals in America- rather, how low it was, no matter how many times people said the situation was getting better. So yes, he was slightly nervous of Alfred's reaction.

"How much did you hear?" he asked, his voice coming out a bit hoarse.

"I uhh...well..." Alfred scratched the back of his neck ruefully. "I heard the call tone and realized you'd left, so I went to check..."

Arthur stood stiffly, his back utterly rigid. Damn. That meant Alfred had heard most, if not all, of the conversation.

"So...you're gay?" Alfred asked after a moment.

"What?" The question startled Arthur from his thoughts. "Do you have anything against that?" he asked sharply, his defenses going up.

"Huh? No, I don't." Alfred suddenly chuckled. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Mattie's got something going on with Gilbert, so I'm kinda used to it." He saw the look on Arthur's face, and his body posture, and stepped closer to the Brit, placing his hands on the other's shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. I know there's a whole bunch of shit going on in the rest of the country, but you're okay here."

Arthur shied away from the contact, but his barriers ever so slowly started to go down. "Really?" He still wasn't completely convinced.

"Yeah. No one here's gonna drive a stake through your heart for sinning or anything."

"I thought they only did that to vampires in the movies." Arthur said, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.

"Oh, them too."

Arthur recoiled a bit at the 'too' part, but Alfred didn't notice. "Oh, would you look at the time. It's getting late, so I think I'll be off to bed." He backed farther away from the other boy, towards his door. "Eavesdropping isn't a very honorable practice, Alfred."

Alfred suddenly had a strange grin on his face. "Then what were you doing outside my door, Arthur?" He tossed something to the bewildered Brit. He was faintly embarrassed that Arthur had heard however much he had, but he didn't let it show. Besides, he might have heard it all anyways, since Alfred hadn't known he'd left. But the look on his face now was priceless.

Arthur had caught the object and opened his hand to reveal his bookmark. His cheeks heated up; he hadn't even realized it was gone. "I- I-...Good night." He turned on his heel and retreated to his room.

"Night!" Alfred called after him, grinning broadly as he turned to his own room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The marathon chapter~

Gilbert had left, but Alfred turned back to his game anyway. There were always other people online he could kill. He was so absorbed in the game that he didn't hear his brother enter until Matthew spoke.

"You seem to have had a change of heart." he said.

Alfred jumped violently. "Goddamnit, don't  _do_  that!" His heartbeat slowly started returning to normal.

"I did knock." Matthew looked amused.

"Oh...well anyway, what do ya mean?"

"About Arthur. A few days ago, you wanted nothing to do with the exchange program. Now you're like best buddies." Matthew pointed out.

Alfred shrugged. "Arthur's pretty cool. He could be kinda stuffy and uppity sometimes, but once he loosens up he's pretty fun to be around. He agreed to the LotR marathon! And besides, he's already here. It wouldn't be very heroic of me to make him suffer just cuz I didn't wanna do it. And...he didn't really wanna come here either, he told me, so I'm gonna show him that America's awesome!" He cut off there so he wouldn't ramble on too much more.

Matthew listened to him amusedly. "Just don't overwhelm the kid. And do stuff he wants to do too."

"Yeah, yeah, course I'll do that. Wanna play?" Alfred held out a controller to him.

"Only if you play hockey with me later."

The controller was quickly withdrawn. "No thanks."

Matthew laughed. "Don't want to get your ass handed to you again?"

Alfred cringed at the memories that came to mind. Matthew was downright scary when it came to hockey.

"Come on, Al. We can play me and Gil against you and Arthur, to make it a bit more fair."

Alfred sighed. "If Artie agrees, we'll do it, I promise. If he doesn't want to do it though, we won't."

Matthew grinned. "Good night." He left as silently as he'd entered.

* * *

The next few days passed quickly. Arthur slowly got more comfortable around Alfred and they spent time together even if they weren't doing the same activities. These scenarios usually ended up with Arthur reading on Alfred's bed and Alfred either playing video games, pouring through comics, or having a go at his homework.

School passed in the same fashion as the first day, with the major difference being that Arthur went to the library at lunch. The Brit grew closer to Kiku as well, who accompanied him sometimes. Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio still teased him, but he did his best to ignore them.

Until they stole his book, drew massive eyebrows on it, and tossed it into the girl's bathroom.

Arthur got the book out eventually with the help of a passing girl, but there was nothing he could do about the permanent marks. To get back at them, he doused the trio with a large bucket of cat pee each.

"Dude, did it really have to be cat pee?" Alfred complained, holding his nose. "Now it's gonna smell like somethin' died in here."

"Yes, it did." Arthur was watching Francis run around the classroom moaning about his ruined hair and clothes with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Damn, Artie, you can be pretty evil." Alfred said, a slightly awed look on his face.

"Well, my family  _is_  descended from pirates, and I've learned a few things from my brothers over the years."

Alfred stared at him. "Really?! That's so cool!"

Needless to say, the trio was more cautious about taking Arthur's things, but they still traded banter and insults. Arthur focused most of his verbal ammunition on Francis, and only retaliated at the other two if they said something first.

He finished 'Return of the King' on Thursday, so there was no problem in doing the marathon. Matthew said that he would stop by and watch occasionally, but probably wouldn't stay the whole time. On Friday, Evelyn drove to the supermarket to get them snacks, even bringing back some British foods she'd found in the international foods isle. Arthur went to bed that night with a tremor of excitement going down his spine.

* * *

"Wake up, Alfred!" Arthur shook the American awake. Well, he tried to. Alfred refused to move no matter how hard Arthur prodded at him.

Sighing, Arthur padded down the kitchen and retrieved a few ice cubes. Slipping back into Alfred's room, he carefully lifted the boy's shirt and shoved the ice down it.

"Holy shit-!" Alfred bolted upright, limbs flailing. Somehow, he ended up on the floor on top of Arthur.

Arthur grunted as the weight hit him, and he stared up into Alfred's impossibly blue eyes. This was the first time he was able to see them clearly without the slight obstruction of the American's glasses. He found himself blushing as he cleared his throat.

"...Hi." Alfred smiled sheepishly at him.

"G-Get the bloody hell off me. You're heavy." Arthur muttered, averting his eyes.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Alfred quickly got up and dusted himself off. "C'mon, I'll pull ya up." He held out his hand.

Arthur grasped it, and nearly had his own arm yanked off as he was pulled up. "Easy there, don't dismember me."

"Hey, I got you up." Alfred shook the remainder of the ice from under his shirt. "You really are evil." He pouted. "Waking me up like that."

"I did shake you, but you ignored me." Arthur pointed out.

"I'm a heavy sleeper." He happened to glance at the clock. "If we're gonna do this marathon, we'd better start it soon."

"That's why I was waking you now."

"Well, why didn't ya just say so?" Alfred took his shirt off, leaving himself clad just in his Marvel boxers. He turned to his closet and rummaged around for a fresh top.

"A-Alfred, have some decency!" Arthur cried and spun around, but not before he'd caught glimpse of quite a spectacular view.

Alfred smirked over his shoulder before pulling on a blue Superman t-shirt and grey sweatpants. "You can look now."

Arthur hesitantly turned around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Alfred was clothed again. He himself was also dressed casually, in a green sweater vest and black sweatpants. "Let's start then, shall we?"

"Yeah." Alfred stepped out of his room, pausing when he saw what Arthur was wearing. "Whoa, you actually own casual clothes?" He tool a closer look at the sweater. "Well, somewhat casual."

Arthur indignantly smoothed out the sweater. "Of course I do. I know how to relax."

The American snickered. "Yeah, probably just how you know casual fashion." He raised an eyebrow at the sweater/sweatpants combination.

Arthur glared at him. "I'm comfortable in it. That's the only thing that matters. Besides, we're not going anywhere." He sidestepped Alfred and headed down the stairs, the other boy following behind.

Matthew greeted them in the kitchen with pancakes. "I made them this morning. Eat up, you're going to need your energy to watch for 9 hours straight."

"Awesome! Mattie, you're the best!" Alfred charged into the kitchen and loaded his plate with no less than ten pancakes.

"Is that...normal?" Arthur asked in awe as the food disappeared before his eyes. "Or healthy?"

"Yeah." Matthew chuckled. "Try one; you'll see soon enough."

He was right. After one bite, Arthur honestly thought he'd died and gone to heaven. He managed to get two more for himself before Alfred ate the rest. The two of them helped Matthew clean up before migrating to the basement. There was only one couch down there in front of the TV, and Matthew ended up between Arthur and Alfred.

"Ready Artie?" Alfred asked, sliding the first DVD in.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Arthur replied.

The Brit was entranced from the first few moments. He didn't normally enjoy American films, but this one was so spectacularly made that he focused on it and it alone. So he didn't notice Alfred clinging to Matthew whenever the Ringwraiths showed up, nor did he hear his mutterings about how scary they were.

When Alfred went to change the disc, Matthew slipped out of the basement, claiming he had other important matters to attend to.

The next few hours and three discs passed normally, with each of them on their own side of the couch. But once Gollum started plotting and muttering to himself more than usual, Alfred scooted closer. Arthur didn't even notice that until the American suddenly flung his arms around the smaller boy, pulling him close.

"A-Alfred, what the blazes are you doing?!" he hissed, struggling to get away.

"Those black dudes are totally creepy! But don't be scared, the hero'll protect y- Holyshit!" At this point, Alfred buried his face in the crook between Arthur's neck and shoulder.

Arthur did not appreciate being used as a teddy bear, but there was simply nothing he could do. Alfred's mouth was by his ear, and the American's breath tickled his neck as the larger boy whispered nonsense to him. "You can't seriously be afraid of that." he told him.

"M'not, and you shouldn't be either. I'll make sure nothing happens to you!" Alfred said, gripping him tighter.

"The only danger I'm in right now is of you breaking my ribs. Let me go!"

Alfred slowly loosened his hold as the scene ended...and then gripped him tighter than ever when the giant spider appeared.

"Holyfuckingshit, don't look Artie!" He forced Arthur to look away from the screen.

Arthur balked when he suddenly found his face pressed against Alfred's chest. "What are you doing?! I can't see the bloody screen!" Never mind the fact that he was blushing because of the close proximity.

"But Artie, the spider!" Alfred pressed even closer, something Arthur hadn't thought was possible. "You'll be scared." he whispered.

A shiver went through Arthur, and he continued to struggle. "I won't be scared, I'm perfectly fine!"

But Alfred refused to let go, so they stayed in that position for the remainder of the movie. Arthur was exhausted when the final ending credits rolled. His arms and legs had numbed long ago, and he bit back a cry of pain as the blood rushed back into them when Alfred finally released him.

"So? What did you think? Did you like it?" The American in question asked cheerfully, as it he hadn't spent the past two hours or so clinging to Arthur.

"Apart from all the  _distractions_ ," Arthur paused his sentence here and glared at him while rubbing the life back into his body. "It was very good. A bit long though, no?"

"They had ta get all the details in and make it look awesome and heroic and stuff." Alfred explained seriously.

"I still prefer the books."

"What? Why?!" Alfred looked scandalized at the thought of someone preferring books to movies.

"I like to imagine for myself what the characters look like." Arthur stood and stretched. "What time is it?"

Alfred glanced at the clock. "7:30."

Arthur paused mid-stretch. "Huh? How is it so late? The movies should have taken only about 9 hours."

"Well, bathroom and food breaks do add up." Alfred pointed out. "Are ya tired?"

Arthur nodded. "Surprisingly, yes. I don't think I've ever stared at a single screen for so long. And I don't want to repeat that anytime soon." He finished stretching and headed towards the stairs. "Good night. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night~!" Alfred smiled brightly at him until he left, and then his face fell into a thoughtful expression.

Clinging to Arthur had been different than clinging to Matthew. With his brother there was the obvious fear of whatever was on the screen (though he'd never admit it out loud), but with Arthur there was something else. Something warm and fuzzy, and though he was a bit scared of the feeling, he liked it. If he was quite honest with himself, he hadn't really wanted to let the Brit go, but when the movie was over, he had no reason to hold on.

His mind in a whirl, he charged upstairs and did the thing he'd always done when he was troubled.

"MATTIEEEE!" he yelled, flopping onto his half-brother's bed, right on top of a pile of laundry the other boy was currently folding.

"What is it?" Matthew asked, glancing up. There was no surprise in his face and he calmly continued folding his clothes, occasionally reaching under Alfred to pull something out.

"Mmmmppphhhh..." Alfred muttered into the sheets.

"What was that? I couldn't understand you." Matthew prodded him lightly.

"Mmph- think- mmmphh Arthur." Alfred said, a bit louder this time.

"Something with Arthur, you say?" Matthew had a faint idea of where this was headed.

Alfred lifted his head out of the sheets. "I think I might like Arthur!" he whisper-yelled. "There, I said it."

Matthew smiled a bit. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Huh?" Alfred tilted his head.

"You like Arthur. You've established that now, yes? So what are you going to do now? Tell him?"

"N-No! And don't you tell him either!" Alfred cried, his arms flailing around.

"Why not?" Matthew was probably going to regret this next statement... "You're a hero, so man up and tell him!"

Alfred sat bolt upright. "Ya really think I'm a hero?" he asked, and Matthew swore he could see the blue eyes shining behind the glasses.

"Yes, yes, and if you are a hero, you should have no problem telling him. Unless...Arthur is a homosexual, right?"

"Yeah, I heard his bro ask him if he found a guy already or something."

"Alfred! Eavesdropping isn't very nice." Matthew whacked him lightly.

"Oi! I couldn't help it, he was being loud..." Alfred muttered, rubbing at his head.

"I find that hard to believe." Matthew stood and put the folded laundry away. "You like him, he likes boys, so what's holding you back?"

Alfred visibly deflated. "But...what if he doesn't like me back? And then it's all awkward for the next week when we have to do stuff together and- ohshit he's only gonna be here for another week, Mattie!"

Matthew strode over to him and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Al, calm down. This isn't like you. If he doesn't like you, then move on. There are other boys out there."

Alfred blinked up at him. "But...But it's  _Arthur._ "

Matthew sighed. The poor boy had fallen pretty hard. And fast. "It'll hurt, but you'll get over it eventually. Hey, if he rejects you, I'll make pancakes."

"But it's not only that..." Alfred muttered, looking serious again. "I'm worried how...y'know...Mom'll take it. I mean, I know she was fine when you came out, but both her kids? That doesn't seem fair... I know she wanted grandkids and all, and that kinda fell to me, but now..."

"Alfred, you can't help who you fall in love with. Mom will support you. You'll be fine. Me and you can always adopt, right? There's plenty of orphans in the world, and we'd be saving them that way."

Alfred brightened again at the mention of saving someone. "Really? But are you sure?"

"Yes. And since he is only staying for another week, you had better hurry up with that confession." Matthew told him.

"I'll do it later, kay?" Alfred got up and tackle hugged him. "Thanks though, Mattie!"

Matthew grunted under the force of impact, but being used to such hugs, he was able to stay on his feet. "You're welcome. P-Please get off now, you're crushing my ribs."

"Sorry bro." Alfred let go and moved to the door.

"Oh, and Alfred?" Matthew called after him. "Gil's going to come over tomorrow and we'll play that hockey match, alright?"

Alfred grimaced a bit, but he nodded. A promise was a promise, after all. He left the room and padded to his own, stopping for a moment by Arthur's door and smiling softly at it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Alfred getting closer to confessing?

The next morning Matthew made pancakes again, because it was his custom on Sundays. To remind Alfred of his mission for the week, he made a raspberry heart on the top of his stack of pancakes.

"Very funny, Mattie." Alfred muttered, blushing a bit when he saw it.

"I think it's quite nice." Arthur came in behind him and took his own seat. "My brothers would never do something like this."

"It's more of a reminder." Matthew cut in, placing a smaller pancake stack before the Brit.

Arthur glanced between the heart and Alfred's slightly blushing face, and it clicked in his mind. "A love confession?" The deepening red on Alfred's cheeks gave him the answer he was looking for. Some of his hunger suddenly disappeared. "I see." he said tersely. "I wish you good luck."

"Thanks." Alfred muttered. Then, he shoved a bit of pancake into his mouth and grinned. "Bu' ah don' meed it cuz mmph a hero!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Arthur and Matthew said in unison. Then they both blinked at each other in surprise and smiled sheepishly.

Alfred swallowed and snickered at them before proceeding to attack the rest of the pancakes on his plate. The entire stack vanished in under two minutes. Arthur, who had just started on his plate, watched with a mixture of fascination and horror.

"Matthew, these are absolutely delicious, but I'm afraid I can't finish this. I mean no disrespect." he said a few moments later, having eaten three pancakes.

"It's alright, Arthur. I'm just glad you like them." Matthew replied, smiling at him.

"I'll eat 'em!" Alfred offered, watching the plate in question hungrily.

"No. You can't eat too much now. Gil will be here soon." Matthew told him, whisking the plate away.

Arthur glanced up. "Video games?"

"No. Hockey." Matthew replied, smiling happily.

"Oh yeah. Artie, we uhh, might be playing hockey against Mattie and Gil later." Alfred said, looking innocent.

Arthur blinked slowly. "Pardon? I never agreed to such an activity."

"But c'mooon Artie!" Alfred moaned. Well, at least the Brit hadn't yelled at him for the nickname. "It'll be fun, I promise! And-"

He was interrupted by the door swinging open. Gilbert smirked as he walked into the kitchen. Matthew, who was by the sink washing the dishes and nearest him, smiled softly in return.

"Hey, Birdie." Gilbert stepped up to him and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Arthur nearly choked on his tea, while Alfred pointedly looked away. They were both blushing, though the American was slightly redder.

Gilbert eventually broke away from Matthew, and he laughed again when he saw the two of them. "Kesesesese, you two never seen a kiss before?"

"You could be less...public about it." Arthur muttered.

The albino sauntered over to him and slung an arm across his shoulders. "There's nothing public about it, we're inside."

Scowling, Arthur slipped out from under his arm and moved a good distance away. "Oh, get a room."

"What do you think Birdie, shall we?"

It was Matthew's turn to blush now. "Hockey first. Then we'll see." he said softly.

"I still haven't agreed to hockey!" Arthur protested.

"Come on, Eyebrows, don't be so unawesome." Gilbert told him.

Arthur shook his head stubbornly.

Alfred went over to him and placed his hands on the other's thin shoulders. "Please, Artie." he pleaded. "I promised Mattie we would..."

"Without my consent? Alfred..." Arthur muttered, but had to avert his gaze from those wide blue eyes.

"Artie, please. Just one game."

Arthur hesitated, but a few seconds later his resolve broke. "On two conditions."

"Yeah?" Alfred brightened immediately.

"One, don't call me Artie. And two, we play football afterwards."

"European or American?" Matthew asked.

"Is there a difference?" Alfred glanced between the two of them, confused.

"Of course there is!" Arthur snapped. "European football is what you call 'soccer', and American football is just an idiotic sport."

Alfred looked wounded. "Hey, don't knock it!"

"We're playing European football, or I refuse to play hockey." Arthur stated simply.

"Fine, fine, we'll play soccer afterwards." Alfred said, bounding up and out of the house before Arthur had time to berate him for his word choice.

The others followed at a slower pace, and they trekked over to where there was a small, about 50 foot long field with two goals on the end. The played with regular hockey sticks but for a puck they used a ball, it being easier to hit and control on the grass.

Matthew became a completely different person on the field. It turned out the usually quiet boy harbored a great passion for the sport, and he only ever really got riled up whenever hockey came into the picture. The only thing Arthur could compare him to was rugby night at the Kirkland household (which included much alcohol, yelling, and occasionally fighting), but not even his brothers became quite so violent.

They decided that they would play two twenty-minute halves, with a short break and position change in between. Gilbert and Arthur started out in goal, with the brothers on the offensive. It was painful.

Matthew was like a blur on the field, and Alfred was so hard-pressed trying to catch him that he didn't have many opportunities to score. Arthur meanwhile, had a shot sent his way about every minute. He managed to block very few of them, and the ones he did usually bounced off some part of his body. Gilbert's snickering did little to improve his mood.

"That was not a match, that was a bloody massacre." Arthur muttered to Alfred once Mattie called half-time. He rubbed a particularly sore spot on his shoulder. It would probably leave a bruise.

"Heh, yeah. That's why I hardly ever play with Mattie, especially one-on-one." Alfred replied, wincing as he gingerly poked at his stomach where he'd taken a particularly violent shot and probably saved Arthur from a possible fractured rib.

"Are you two alright?" Matthew called, running briefly over. "Sorry, I guess I got carried away..."

"You  _guess_?" Arthur no longer trusted that seemingly innocent and passive face.

Matthew grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. But don't worry, it only happens with hockey."

"Don't worry bro, we'll just get some ice for it later." Alfred told him, nudging Arthur in the ribs when he looked like he was about to argue.

When he got onto the field against Gilbert, Arthur was able to score some points, and he managed to prevent the albino from shooting on a few occasions, but the lead Matthew had built up was too great. He and Alfred ended up losing by a lot, a fact which didn't sit well with either of them.

"Let's take a half an hour break before we start the soccer match, okay?" Matthew suggested.

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." Alfred agreed, flopping down onto the grass. "Mind getting some water for us? Since you guys won and all."

Matthew gave him a look, but then nodded and started off towards the house. He didn't get very far before Gilbert rushed up behind him and scooped him up, bridal style.

"G-Gilbert! What-" He was cut off abruptly as Gilbert leaned down to kiss him.

"Kesesese, sweet victory, Birdie!" he said, grinning down at the blond when he pulled away.

There was a light smattering of red on Matthew's cheeks as he stared up into those red eyes. He hugged Gilbert tightly for a moment before twisting out of his grip. "Later." he said softly.

Alfred had watched them go from his spot on the grass. When they kissed, he quickly turned away and instead focused his gaze on Arthur, who had settled down not two feet away. The American's senses went into hyperdrive at the closeness.

"How's the shoulder?" he asked to distract himself. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I appreciate your concern." Arthur replied, glancing at him. "And your stomach? That seemed painful."

Alfred shrugged. "It hurts, but it's not gonna kill me. 'Sides, it'll fade away in a few days."

Arthur focused on the ground. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Go in front of me and take it."

"Well, that was going like crazy fast. And...y'know, it would have hurt."

"Of course it would have hurt! And now you've gone and gotten yourself hurt instead!" Arthur sighed. "Alfred, you don't have to go and do things for me."

"Course I do, I'm a hero! And heroes haveta save regular people from getting hurt!" Alfred declared proudly.

"You're going to kill yourself one day, doing that." Arthur told him shortly.

"Naw, I'm too awesome for that!"

"You just sounded like Gilbert." Even though he'd only been there a week, Alfred had managed to pick up on the albino's obsession with the word 'awesome'.

Before Alfred could respond, Matthew came out of the house with two water bottles. He was alone. "Gilbert had to leave. Something about a prank with Francis and Antonio." he said, tossing the bottles to them.

"What? But now we won't have even teams!" Alfred protested, stretching to catch both bottles. He then handed one to Arthur.

Arthur accepted it and took a long drink. "I suppose we could play the game sometime else."

"But Artie, I'm gonna feel bad now... I promised we'd play." Alfred told him.

"You shouldn't go around making so many promises then." Arthur advised. "You don't know how many of them you'll be able to keep." Alfred looked so dejected that after a moment, Arthur sighed. "It's okay, it's not your fault."

"How about the two of you just play against one another?" Matthew suggested. "I have homework for tomorrow to do anyway."

"Would you be okay with that?" Alfred asked the both of them.

"Yes, this works." Arthur replied.

"I offered, didn't I?" Matthew said with a smile. "I'll see you guys later."

When he was gone, Alfred darted to the shed and pulled out a soccer ball. They decided to play until either they got bored or tired.

Their playing styles were very different. Alfred had size and strength on his side. His kicks were powerful if not a bit haphazard and he wasn't afraid to take risks, occasionally shooting from midfield or even farther back. Even though he was smaller, Arthur was faster. He used his speed completely to his advantage, and it often looked as though he was dancing around the larger boy. His passes and shots were clean and precise, and he almost always made it in.

Their game ended abruptly when one of Alfred's shots clipped Arthur's bruised shoulder. Surprised, the Brit cried out in pain and fell over.

"Holy shit Arthur, are you okay?!" Alfred ran over to him and knelt down beside him. "I'm so sorry!"

Arthur groaned and sat up, gently rubbing his arm. "I'm okay, there's nothing broken. Besides, I've taken worse."

"C'mon, we're going inside to get ice. No, don't argue, we'll play again sometime else." Alfred helped him up and led him inside and to the couch, where he ordered him to stay.

Ignoring Arthur's protests, he got out two ice packs and returned to the couch. He wanted to try something, so he settled down right next to him and pressed one of the packs to Arthur's shoulder while holding the other to his stomach.

Arthur flinched initially at the cold, and then he gave Alfred a puzzled glance. "I can hold it myself, you know."

The American's heart jumped when he became fixed with those green eyes. Yes, he was definitely reacting to Arthur. "W-Well, you'll haveta hold it in an awkward-ass position, so your arm might fall asleep! I gotta save you from that!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, but after a moment of hesitation, reached out to hold the ice pack against Alfred's stomach. "You're holding mine, so I might as well hold yours." he muttered by way of explanation.

"Thanks." Alfred replied, grinning a bit as a light blush spread over his face. His heartbeat sped up again, and he couldn't look away from Arthur's eyes.

Arthur held his gaze for a few seconds, but then looked away. He cleared his throat and focused intently on keeping the ice pressed against Alfred's skin. He felt warmth on his cheeks and shook his head lightly, allowing some hair to fall over them, at least partially hiding the redness.

Alfred leaned back against the couch, finally looking away. The two of them stayed like that until the ice packs melted and became wet. Arthur removed it from Alfred's shirt and pulled away. There were wet spots on both their bodies, and the Brit touched the one on his shoulder lightly, grimacing. At least he couldn't feel the bruise anymore.

"Here, give me that. I'll take it back to the kitchen." Alfred said, rising. "Go and change if you wanna, and then meet me in my room? I need some help with some Lit stuff."

Arthur nodded and went up to change, pulling on a fresh sweater, this one being light grey with irregular horizontal green stripes across it. He entered Alfred's room again to the sight of Alfred's bare chest.

"Bloody- can't you change in the bathroom or something?!" he swore and turned around, facing the door.

Therefore, he didn't notice Alfred sneaking up behind him until the other boy's arms wrapped themselves around his waist and he was hugged from behind. "What? Artie, it's okay, you can tell me that ya love my awesomely heroic abs~!"

Arthur stiffened and went beet red. "W-What, I-I do not, where would you get such a barmy idea?!" he sputtered.

Alfred laughed to cover up his own nervousness. "Whoa, barmy? What's that mean?"

"It means stupid, now get your blasted arms off me!"

Alfred let him go and then quickly turned to his desk. "Right, so umm Lit stuff. We're reading 'The Glass Menagerie', and I don't really get some stuff. Like, I get Laura has that thing and all, but it's not really that noticeable, so can't she just get over it and get out and live a little?"

Arthur sighed and followed him. He attempted to explain to the American, and before they knew it, it was time for dinner. After eating they went right back into it, and ended up staying up until 10, whereupon Arthur retired to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5! And there's a bit of an abrupt transition, but I assure you it's supposed to be this way. ^^

The next day, it was announced that the exchange students and their hosts were going on a 3-day field trip to New York City to visit the Statue of Liberty and the Empire state Building, among other things. There were about fourteen of them going on the trip: six exchangees, six hosts, and two chaperones.

Alfred was ecstatic. "This is so awesome, I've never been to NYC before!" he said when they were walking home.

"Really?" Arthur was surprised.

"Yeah. I've only ever been to Canada, to visit Mattie's other family."

"Matthew's  _other_  family?" Arthur was confused.

"Yeah. Mattie's my half-brother, see. We have the same mother. But my mom was married to his dad before my dad. Mattie's dad died when she was pregnant with him. Afterwards she met my dad, and then I was born." Alfred explained. "But Mattie has an older sister in Toronto that we go visit like once or twice a year. Mattie's dad had kind of an obsession with Japan and stuff so she's named Kuma, but she's pretty cool."

"I see."

"And you? When you were talking with your brother...he sounded Scottish..." Alfred looked a bit guilty now.

Arthur paused for a moment. "My mum err...got around a lot." he said shortly.

"Oh." Alfred stopped too and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing new, after all. Let's get home, we have to pack for the city." Arthur said, resuming walking.

Alfred brightened at the mention of New York and also started walking. He and Arthur spent that whole day packing, as the Brit wouldn't let them stop until they had  _absolutely_  made sure that they had every last thing they could possibly need. They started with repacking all of Arthur's things, only (and with great hesitance on the Brit's part) leaving out what they deemed unessential. Then they moved onto Alfred's stuff, whereupon Arthur took out most of the American's wardrobe and moved it to the bed before carefully going through it.

"Arthur, I don't really think that eight pairs of underwear are necessary for a  _three_  day trip..." Alfred said.

"Accidents can happen." Arthur replied, not looking up from his task.

"But- But  _eight_  pairs, Artie?"

"Don't call me Artie. You'll thank me later."

"Ugh, you're worse than my mother!" Alfred complained, flopping down onto the middle of his bed.

"No-!" Arthur lunged to stop him, but he was too late. "Alfred you git, I'd just folded those!"

Alfred laughed and rolled around on the bed, messing up the previously neatly stacked piled of clothes even more. "Lighten up Arthur, we have time."

Arthur threw down the shirt he was currently folding. "No we don't." He glanced at the clock. "It's past 10. You can finish on your own; I'm going to bed."

No amount of complaining, begging, singing (that was actually quite painful to hear), and later knocking (read: banging- Arthur very nearly got up then, but in the end settled for hurling a pillow at the door) would get him out of bed. Knowing that Alfred would most likely not have finished packing, he did however get up at 5:30 the next morning and did it for him. Sure enough, the other boy had simply stuffed everything haphazardly into the duffel bag he was taking.

Arthur quickly and quietly repacked all the clothing, glancing at the sleeping Alfred every few minutes to check if he was awake or not. Luckily, he stayed out of it the whole time. When he was done repacking, Arthur couldn't resist walking over to his bedside and looking down at him for a few moments.

Alfred's face was calm, and he looked extremely young. His golden-blond hair reflected some of the faint sunlight streaming through the blinds, and there was a soft smile curving on his lips. Arthur couldn't help himself and ever so gently ran his hand through that hair. It was just as soft as he'd imagined. He leaned down a bit, and then stopped. It seemed so cliché, falling for his exchange host, but he couldn't help it. And it wasn't like Alfred would ever return those feelings... No, Arthur Kirkland didn't get that lucky. He retracted his hand and left the room, not noticing the bright blue eyes opening and watching him go.

Their bus for New York left at 7:15. The ride down was long. At first, Alfred slept and Arthur read, but that peace was shattered when the American woke up. From then on, he and Arthur either talked about their pasts and interests or bickered quietly.

"Look Artie! It's the Empire State Building- and- skyscrapers!" Alfred said excitedly at one point in the afternoon, his face pressed up against the glass. "They look so freakin' cool!"

The ghost of a smile appeared on Arthur's face at Alfred's excitement, but he didn't let anyone see it. "Yes, they're very tall."

That day they just checked into their hotel- it was nice, but nothing fancy- and then went out to a pizza place for dinner before catching the last time to go up to the top of the Empire State Building. Alfred had a splendid time trying to get Arthur to eat a slice. After much grumbling and quiet cursing, the Brit finally ate a bit, and then declared that he would spend the rest of the evening not talking to him, even when they were up on the terrace overlooking most of the New York skyline.

Despite Arthur's coolness towards him, Alfred insisted that they get a picture together. So, tossing his camera to one of the other students and slinging his arm around Arthur's shoulder, he posed. Once the shutter clicked, Alfred rushed over to look at it. He smiled when he saw it. He was grinning widely, one arm around Arthur, holding him close. He was making a peace sign at the camera. Arthur was leaning into his side a bit, a scowl on his face. The Brit was, however, blushing a bit. The New York cityscape was behind them. All in all, not a bad photo.

"What are you grinning at?" Arthur asked, coming over to him and breaking his non-speaking vow. "Show me that."

"Nope~!" Alfred stuck the camera in his pocket and grinned.

"Alfred!"

"Calm down man, I'll get it developed back home and give ya a copy to take back to England."

Arthur huffed and turned away from him to look out at the buildings again. They went down not long after that, but not before Alfred managed to discreetly snap a few photos of the Brit.

The next day, their only full day in New York, was hectic. It was a miracle they got through it all, but the fact it was a Wednesday and most people were either at school or work helped a bit with time. In the morning they visited the Statue of Liberty, leaving off Ellis Island due to group vote. They had lunch in Central Park, where Alfred nearly had a fit over a nut vendor.

"Look Artie! 'Nuts 4 Nuts'! Hahaha! That's so funny." Alfred rolled around on the grass and laughed.

Arthur rolled his eyes at him. "Typically American. It's not  _that_  funny. Stop acting so childishly."

"C'mon, I wanna try 'em. You're not allergic, are you?" Alfred asked, dragging Arthur off to the vendor.

After Arthur assured him that he wasn't allergic, Alfred bought a pack of peanuts for them to share. Both boys found the nuts good, though Alfred ate more. Once the whole group was finished eating they visited the Museum of Natural History, which made Arthur a bit happier. Though he was more than a bit disappointed that there weren't any unicorns.

"What did you expect? This is the Museum of  _Natural_  History." Alfred told him, snickering a bit at they walked through the bird exhibit.

"So? Magical and fantastical creatures have played an important role in history and folklore. They really should have an exhibit for them." Arthur argued back.

"Uh huh, sure. Well anyways, my favorite's the Bald Eagle!" Alfred stared at the bird, and his eyes clouded over. "It's really say they had to kill him, though."

Arthur patted his shoulder sympathetically. "It does look nice." he said awkwardly, not really knowing exactly what to say.

Alfred glanced over at him and smiled. "Yeah...What do you like? Y'know, since there's no unicorns."

"Hmm..." Arthur glanced around the room at the other birds. "I think the robin, or the sparrow."

"Why? That's so boring."

Arthur shrugged. "They're unobtrusive. And elegant. And besides, I like their colors."

"Oh. Cool."

The group moved on then, so the two had to hurry to catch up. When they'd finished touring all they had planned to, Arthur cornered one of the museum staff and mildly suggested it would be a good idea to open a 'Mythical/Fantastic Creatures' exhibit. Alfred had a good laugh for a few minutes watching the uncomfortable staff person slowly withering under the force of the Brit's lecturing. After a while though, he pulled Arthur away to spare the poor man.

"Okay Arthur, I think you've made a big enough impact on him." he said.

"Really?" Arthur looked extremely pleased with himself.

When they finally exited the museum it was still a bit light out, so they were given an hour so they could go shopping for souvenirs.

Arthur brought a set of differently-themed shot glasses for his family- he only did it because it was the polite thing to do- but refused to get anything for himself. "I have no need for such items, and none of this appeals to me." he said by way of explanation when Alfred asked.

"Really? You don't like any of it?" Alfred had gotten a painted New York-themed hockey stick for Matthew (Arthur still had no idea where he'd found it- the Brit certainly hadn't seen any of the things in any of the shops) and an Empire State Building paperweight for Evelyn.

"No. It's so stereotypical and just  _everywhere_." Arthur replied. He suddenly stopped and then went over to a rotating display and touched a license plate keychain with a random name on it. "This actually isn't as bad as the rest of this. It's practical, at least... but I still won't get it. There's no point." He moved off to look at something else.

Alfred debated for a moment. Then, he crouched down by the display and searched for both his and Arthur's names.

"Here, Artie." he said a while later, his hand extended outwards. In his palm sat one of the keychains.

Arthur looked startled, and he simply stared at the little piece of metal. "What is this, Alfred?"

"Ya said it was the only thing you liked. And 'sides, everyone should have something to remember New York by if they visit~!" Alfred said cheerfully, lightly thrusting the keychain at him.

"That didn't mean you had to go and buy it for me!" Arthur finally took the little license plate and traced the raised letters of his name with a fingertip.

"You're right. I didn't have to." Alfred looked him straight in the eye. "But I wanted to."

Arthur's cheeks reddened and he looked away, sticking the keychain in his pocket. "Are you hungry? We should go eat somewhere before we have to meet back up with the others."

Alfred smiled and eagerly nodded, distracted by the mention of food. He pocketed his own, matching keychain (except his had his own name on it), and they set off. He insisted on going to McDonald's for food. Arthur put up a small fight, but in the end he agreed, if only to shut the American up. He refused to eat anything there, and instead later led Alfred to a small sandwich shop, where the taller boy still managed to eat a six inch sub.

"New York was fun, right?" Alfred suddenly asked when they were back in the hotel room. It was dark, and the two were in their beds. "I mean, apart from all that walking, and the museum was kind of boring and stuff but- Mmoof!" His voice suddenly cut off as he was struck in the face with a pillow.

"The museum was not boring!" Arthur lowered his hand back to the mattress. "The city was alright, I suppose. It was just like any other tourist spot in the world, but it wasn't  _horrible_."

Alfred smiled in the darkness and curled his hands around the pillow, breathing in the faint traces of Arthur's scent that managed to sink into the fabric. "I wanna come back here someday."  _With you, Arthur._  But he didn't say the last part out loud. "See all the stuff we missed."

"That's nice, Alfred. Good night." Arthur's voice was heavy with sleep. "We have to get up early tomorrow..."

Alfred went weak at the sound of that voice. His chest and lower region tightened, and he had a very hard time falling asleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I made Kumajiro Matthew's sister in this. I dunno why, I just needed some 'other family' for them to visit, and then I realized that I didn't put Kuma in there so this happened. Whoops.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second to last chapter, guys~

He consequently fell asleep on Arthur's shoulder on the bus the next day. He managed to stay awake for a few minutes at first, but once the cityscape passed out of sight, he lost interest and his eyes closed.

Arthur stiffened when he felt the weight on his shoulder, but Alfred was already fast asleep. He didn't find the position all that uncomfortable and he felt it would be rude to wake the American, so he didn't move. Instead, he immersed himself in one of the books he'd brought with him.

Then he felt a wet spot on his shoulder. He froze again, and blinked. If that was what he thought it was... Arthur looked down and groaned.

"Alfred you git, you're drooling on me!" he hissed, shoving the American off him and towards the window.

Alfred woke quickly, his arms flailing a bit to help him keep his balance. "Wha- Oh, hey Artie. Why'd ya wake me?" he asked, blinking a few times.

Arthur sent him a glare. "You were drooling on me."

"Shit- sorry!" Alfred quickly wiped his mouth, looking more than a bit embarrassed. He then took out a napkin from his pocket and lightly dabbed at the wet spot on Arthur's shirt, though the action did little to help.

"Stop that." Arthur pushed his hand away.

Alfred gave his shoulder one last dab before allowing him to push his hand away. "Where are we?" He yawned softly.

"Massachusetts. If you're tired, then sleep more. Just not on me." Arthur told him, turning back to the book on his lap.

Alfred watched him through half-lidded eyes for a while, before fully closing them and falling asleep. He woke later during the opening of a movie.

"We're watching 'Signs'. Apparently it's a horror movie." Arthur whispered to him.

"Awesome!" Alfred sat up a bit straighter. "Don't worry about getting scared, I'll protect ya." he whispered back, scooting a bit closer to him.

Once again though, by the middle of the movie when the 'scary' stuff started happening, Alfred was clinging tightly to the smaller blond. "Don't look Artie, that thing's totally gonna get 'em, and then you'll be scared- HOLYFUCK what was that?!" He suddenly pressed even closer to Arthur and attempted to bury his face in the Brit's shoulder.

"A-Alfred, you'll break something!" Arthur protested, trying to fend him off. "It's not even scary!"

"Aww Artie, you don't haveta pretend for my sake. It's okay to be scared, the hero's here." Alfred muttered, his voice muffled by the shirt he was currently pressing his head into.

"I'm not pretending!" Arthur prodded at his hair. "Some hero you are, clinging to me like some small child."

"Shutup, m'not. I gotta protect you."

"I don't need protection." Arthur told him gently, just as someone on the screen screamed.

Alfred jumped a bit and shoved his nose into the crook between Arthur's neck and shoulder. His breath tickled and was warm against Arthur's skin.

"It's just a movie, Alfred." Arthur murmured. Alfred's weight didn't feel  _bad_  against him... He stopped those thoughts right there, and for the rest of the movie tried his best to ignore Alfred. It worked out fairly well, for once he got used to the lack of blood circulation to his arms, he was able to dismiss the feeling.

The American calmed down immediately once the end credits started rolling. He released Arthur and stretched. "Well, that wasn't so bad."

"Not- Not bad- You just-" Arthur gestured abstractly for a moment before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yo, you okay? Did it scare you that much?" Alfred asked worriedly.

"Just forget about it. They'll drop us off in about half an hour." Arthur replied, repeating what one of the chaperones told him not too long ago, when Alfred was still too scared to think straight.

Alfred turned to look eagerly out the window, watching the dark blurs of the nighttime landscape pass by. The bus indeed stopped by Alfred's driveway about thirty minutes later to let them get off. The two boys said good bye to the other students and teachers and disembarked.

Evelyn and Matthew were waiting for them in the kitchen, and refused to let the two of them go up to sleep until they had recounted every last thing they'd done in the city. By the time they were finally released, it was past eleven.

"So..." Alfred started, a bit awkwardly, as they climbed the stairs. "Tomorrow's your last day, huh?"

"Yes. Thank you for pointing out that very obvious fact." Arthur snapped back. It was late, and the Brit was tired and irritated. Throughout their conversation with Evelyn and Matthew he had managed to keep a polite front up, but now that was slipping, and quite rapidly.

"What I meant was, did you like it here?" Alfred pressed, oblivious to the dangerous glint in Arthur's eyes. "Like, it wasn't that bad, was it? Right? Arthur-"

"Alfred, just shut the hell up. You're voice is  _extremely_  annoying." Arthur moved away from him to his bedroom door. He stepped inside. "It was bearable." he said coldly, before slamming the door shut.

Alfred was left standing in the middle of the hallway, looking hurt. "A-Arthur?" he asked faintly, but of course there was no answer. After a few more moments of just standing there, he turned and slowly walked into his room, gently closing the door behind him.

Only to throw it open in absolute panic about ten minutes later when he raced out of the room, shaking and pale as a sheet.

Arthur was woken by the American's shout. He lay there in the darkness and listened to the slightly muffled conversation in the room next door between Matthew and Alfred.

"Hey. Hey, Mattie."

"Huh? What do you want, Alfred?" Matthew's voice sounded tired, but not surprised.

"Well, haha, they showed 'Signs' on the bus on the way home, and it was kinda dark out and the movie sorta was like really freaky-"

"And now you're scared of sleeping alone in your room?"

"...Yeah. So could I maybe sleep with you? Like we did when we were younger, y'know?"

"No."

"Ohthanky- wait. What? Why nooot?!"

Arthur winced as Alfred's whine cut through the still air. If he hadn't been awake already, that would have done the trick of disrupting his sleep.

"Because no, Alfred. You have to learn to face your fears, and I'm not going to have all of my blankets stolen by you again!" Even though Matthew had probably raised his voice, the words were still pretty quiet.

"But Mattie-"

"No. Ask Arthur."

"A-Arthur? But he..." Alfred's voice got really quiet at this point, so Arthur couldn't distinguish the words. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let Alfred into his- albeit borrowed- bed. "I can't ask him."

"Alfred, you're not sleeping with me and Mom's at work, so either you ask Arthur, or go back to your room and sleep alone."

There was silence for a few minutes, before Arthur heard quiet footsteps and the closing of a door. Then, there was a knock on his door, and it swung silently open.

"H-Hey, Arthur?" Alfred whispered. There was an uncharacteristic tremor in his voice, and Arthur recalled how he'd snapped at him earlier. He felt bad about it now. "Are you awake?"

"Yes." Arthur kept his voice neutral, with just a hint of coolness in it. "What do you want?"

"I c-came to see if you were still scared, and if you needed a hero to come comfort you..." Alfred said hopefully.

Through the darkness, Arthur could see him shaking a bit and glancing around every few seconds. This would be a very, very bad idea, letting Alfred sleep with him. There was no way he would agree- "Come on, then. But don't steal my covers." Oh screw it, it was just for one night anyway.

Alfred brightened and practically ran to the bed, burrowing under the covers and snuggling right up to Arthur. "Thanks, Arthur." He didn't use any nickname, not wanting to piss him off like before.

Arthur placed his hands on Alfred's chest and pushed him away, towards the other side of the mattress. "Stay to that side."

"Okay..." Alfred felt a tingling sensation where Arthur's hands had been.

"Thank you." Arthur said shortly. There was silence for a long time, but neither of them could fall asleep. He finally cleared his throat. "Alfred?"

"Hmm?"

"I err...I apologize for snapping at you earlier." The words were a little tough to say, but Arthur forced them out. "It wasn't very fair or nice of me."

Alfred chuckled very lightly, his voice heavy with sleep. "S'okay, Artie." he murmured. "G'night..."

"Good night, Alfred."

The next morning, Arthur awoke to find something warm pressed against him. He tried to move, but found that he couldn't. Panicking a bit, his eyes snapped open. He looked down to find a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. He sighed and went still, feeling Alfred's breath tickling his shoulder every few seconds. He was being hugged like a teddy bear. Face turning red, Arthur wriggled a bit, but Alfred still slept on.

The alarm clock rang a few minutes later, shattering the peace and silence. Alfred's arms tightened around Arthur for a brief moment, but then he jumped violently away, back to his side of the bed.

"Turn it off!" he moaned, sticking a pillow over his head.

"We have to get up now." Arthur replied, reaching over and stopping the ringing. "And you have to get out so I can change." He quickly rose from the bed and crouched over his suitcase.

Alfred groaned, but got up and shuffled out of the room. He was decidedly more awake at breakfast a few minutes later, managing to eat more than half of what was on the table.

It seemed as though in every class that day, they were asked about the New York trip. Apart from all the questions, Arthur also had to write an essay about his thoughts on America in Alfred's English class. It wasn't the end of the world for him- he'd had much more work at his school in England, but it was a nuisance.

Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio came over after school. They got it into their heads that it would be a good idea to play a game of hide-and-seek tag to commemorate the fact it was Arthur's last day. And Arthur had somehow agreed to take part in it.

Right before Alfred had gone outside after changing, Evelyn had stopped him.

"You had better get a move on, mister. Tomorrow Arthur will leave, and it will be too late." she told him, winking.

Alfred stared at her for a moment, the gears turning in his head. "W-What? You know...? You know about me?"

"It's very obvious, and you don't do a very good job of hiding it." Evelyn said, laughing slightly. "Only a blind man wouldn't see it. Well, a blind man and apparently Arthur."

Alfred's cheeks reddened. "A-And you're...fine with it?"

"Why shouldn't I be? If you're happy with him, then that's all that matters."

"Mom...but-"

"No buts, Alfred. Do you like Arthur or not?"

"I do. I like him a lot."

"Then follow your heart and tell him how you feel. But hurry up about it, you don't have much time left."

Alfred nodded and hugged Evelyn briefly. He then headed out to join the others, and the game started. As he was the last one to arrive, he was 'it' first.

Arthur was hidden in some bushes by the house. From his vantage point, he watched as the roles rotated. First Alfred caught Francis, and Francis caught Gilbert. Matthew became 'it' after that, and then Francis again, and then Antonio. Alfred was the one catching after that once more. He was the first one to find Arthur's hiding place.

The Brit heard him come close. He debated for a moment, and then ran. There was a shout behind him as Alfred leapt into pursuit. He was chased for a good five minutes, but Alfred made no real attempt to catch him. After a while, Arthur realized that he was being played with, like a cat might play with a mouse. Not long after that realization, he found himself pressed up against the white wall of the house, Alfred before him. But he still hadn't been tagged.

Alfred slowly stepped forward, raising his hands to rest them in the wall on either side of Arthur's head, effectively trapping him.

"A-Alfred?" Arthur questioned, staring up at him with wide eyes. "If you're going to tag me, then just do it already."

The American didn't move for about a minute, though it seemed much longer than that. He just looked back into Arthur's eyes. Evelyn and Matthew's words rang in his head.  _You're a hero, so man up and tell him... You don't have much time left... Tomorrow, Arthur will leave and it will be too late..._

He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to Arthur's.

Arthur froze in shock, but then melted into the kiss and pressed back. Suddenly, though, he shoved Alfred away from him. "How dare you?!" he snapped, scowling heavily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole story kind of started with that house hide-and-seek scene.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the end!

Alfred stumbled back, an expression of hurt on his face. "Shit, sorry Arthur! God, I thought you- but 'course you fucking don't. Shit, shit, I'm so sorry-"

"You idiot!" Arthur yelled over him, cheeks getting red. "You absolute  _sodding_   _moron_! The last day?! You let me know how you feel on the  _last bloody day_?!"

"What?" Alfred stopped short in his ramble of apology. "Y-You mean you don't, like hate me fer doin' that?" he asked, his blue eyes shining.

Arthur averted his eyes, his blush deepening. "No, of course not. In fact, that was quite," He gave a light cough. "Enjoyable."

"Can I do it again?"

Arthur's head jerked up, his eyes widening once more. He stared up at Alfred for a moment, and then nodded.

Alfred smiled softly before kissing him again. His arms wound around the Brit's neck, and he pressed the smaller boy into the wall of the house. His mouth moved feverishly, but gently, against Arthur's.

Finally, Alfred pulled away once more. There was a small smirk on his face. "You're it!" he called out cheerfully, and then dashed away.

Taken by surprise, Arthur merely watched him for a few seconds, his limbs frozen in place. Then, he snapped out of it. "Alfred, you bastard!" he yelled after him. "That wasn't bloody fair!" All that came back to him was an echo of Alfred's laugh.

Scowling, he stomped off into the woods in search of someone to catch. After a few minutes, he came across a snickering bush. His footsteps turned silent and he held his breath as he approached. Before too long, a mop of white hair came into his vision, to accompany the 'kesesese'-ing. He pounced.

"You're it, Gilbert!"

"How did you find my awesome hiding place?" the albino asked, rising and brushing his pants off.

"It wasn't that awesome. Besides, if you're hiding then it might be smart to  _keep quiet_." Arthur replied, smirking. "Now off you go. No tag-backs."

Gilbert set off, grumbling about how no, his hiding place was indeed awesome and that Arthur was the unawesome one.

Arthur meanwhile settled into a clump of bushes not too far away. He stayed quiet though, unlike  _some_ one, so he wasn't found for another half an hour. It was Alfred who found him, unsurprisingly.

"Hey Artie! Found ya!"

Arthur backed away from him. "Are you it?" he asked cautiously.

"Nope. We're finishing up now, cuz Francis and Antonio are getting bored, and besides they gotta go now." Alfred's eyes were wide and honest as he stepped closer.

"And the others?" Arthur hesitated for a moment, but then let him approach.

"They're heading back to the house. I was sent to find you and take you back." Alfred stopped in front of him and hugged him.

"A-Alfred?" Arthur questioned. He was surprised at first, but then relaxed and lightly hugged him back.

The American released him and grinned. "C'mon, dinner's almost ready." He took Arthur by the hand and led him back to the house.

As they got closer to the white building, Arthur tried slipping his hand free, but Alfred only tightened his grip. Evelyn and Matthew gave them knowing looks, and Gilbert whistled.

"About time!" the albino crowed.

"Sh-Shut up!" Arthur muttered, his face growing extremely red. He once again tried to free his hand, but Alfred still held on tightly.

Dinner passed awkwardly for him. Alfred finally released his hand, but that was only to eat, and he moved his chair as close as possible to the Brit anyhow. Evelyn had made a spectacular array of food to celebrate Arthur's last day. There was baked mac n' cheese, small steaks, and the woman had even gone so far as to make fish and chips for Arthur. And they weren't all that bad.

Alfred volunteered himself and Arthur to do the dishes when they were all done eating. The whole time they were doing the task, he kept as close to the smaller boy as was possible.

"What exactly are you doing, Alfred?" Arthur finally asked, after they'd bumped hips for the fifth time in three minutes.

"I just wanna be close to you, Artie." Alfred replied softly. "You're leaving tomorrow, so we don't really have a lot of time left..."

"And whose fault is that? Waiting until the last day, what a brilliant idea." Arthur muttered, vehemently wiping a plate dry.

"I-I know I was stupid." Alfred shifted his weight a bit from foot to foot. "But I didn't know that you'd like me back!"

Arthur sighed. "Oh, Alfred..." he murmured, gently whacking him with the dish towel.

"Oi- Artie! That's wet!" Alfred flicked some water at him in response. Then, he grew more somber again. "But...even heroes get nervous when confessing love..." he said, cheeks flaming.

"G-Git." Arthur said softly, blushing in return.

"C'mon, last plate." Alfred handed it to him and dried his hands before glancing at the time. "Whoa, it's getting kinda late."

"Shite." Arthur quickly dried the plate and set it safely down. "I have to pack."

"Nooooo! Artie, you can do that later!" Alfred hugged him tightly, rubbing his nose against Arthur's neck.

"Alfred-"

"Can I sleep with you again?"

"P-Pardon?" Arthur's blush intensified.

"Not like sex or anything like that, but I just wanna cuddle and hold you some more." Alfred said quickly.

"Alfred I-"

"I won't try anything, I swear! M'not like Francis, and besides, I'm a hero and heroes don't do that-"

"Alright!" Arthur finally cut across him. He was smiling just a tiny bit. "You can sleep with me, just  _belt up_."

Alfred grinned widely and pressed a quick kiss to Arthur's cheek. "Awesome!"

"But I have to Skype my brother first. I haven't all week, and I have to make sure they'll remember to come pick me up on Sunday. I've no desire to be stuck phoneless and alone at Heathrow for God knows how long."

"Alright. Let's go then. I call first shower!" Alfred released him and dashed off.

"Wanker!" Arthur yelled after him, but before he could follow upstairs, Evelyn stopped him.

For the next few minutes, he talked with her about the past two weeks, assuring her that he'd had a wonderful time and that he'd stay longer if he could. Alfred finally called for him from upstairs, and he politely excused himself.

Evelyn stopped him briefly once more. "Arthur, I'm happy for you and Alfred. I truly am. But if you  _ever_  do  _anything_  to hurt my boy..." She let the rest of the sentence hang in the air.

Arthur gulped a bit. He knew from his own past experiences that possessive mothers were a scary business. "I have no intention of doing anything of the like, Mrs. Jones." he told her sincerely. _'Though I do hope Alfred feels the same way.'_  That part was left unsaid.

Evelyn searched his face and then nodded, apparently satisfied. "Good. Go on then, dear, he's waiting."

Arthur bid her a good night and ran up the stairs. He grabbed his borrowed towel and took a quick shower before entering his room. Alfred was seated on the bed, waiting. He also happened to be shirtless.

"A-Alfred, some decency please!" Arthur cried, nearly falling flat on his face, but somehow managing to catch himself on the nearby desk chair.

"What d'you mean? I have pants on and everything."

"Oh, never mind. Go sit on the chair and don't make a peep." Once Alfred had moved, Arthur set up his laptop in a manner that the American couldn't be seen. He opened Skype and clicked on his brother's name.

After about a minute or so of the call tone, Scott's face appeared. "Yer a right bastard, ye ken?" the redhead muttered irritably. He looked as though he'd just woken up.

"Says the one who used to dress me up in girl's clothes when we were younger." Arthur shot back automatically, before remembering he had company in the room. He glanced up briefly to find Alfred chuckling quietly, and he blushed again.

Scott caught the look and smirked. "Oh, has the wee poofy bunny found himself a boyfriend?"

"Sh-Shut up! I am not a bunny!" Arthur protested, his cheeks heating up even more and his eyes going on the defensive position, right before he was knocked over.

"An' what if Artie has?" Alfred leaned over him so he could be seen. He bared his (still bare) chest, and there was a challenge in his eyes.

"So you're the one?" Scott openly ran his eyes up and down Alfred's body.

"Yeah. S'there a problem?"

"Oh no, not at all." Scott was still smirking as he casually took a sip of a whiskey bottle. "I suppose that as Arthur's older brother, I should give you the whole 'hurt him and you die violently' spiel. Only me and his other brothers are allowed to hurt him."

"I would never hurt Arthur!" Alfred didn't really know, but something about Scott's attitude was really starting to piss him off. So naturally, he did the first thing that came to his mind. He glanced down briefly at Arthur, who was awkwardly half-underneath him, and then leaned down to kiss him.

Scott wasn't fazed. He simply took another sip from his bottle, still smirking.

Arthur pushed him off after a moment, sputtering. "W-What are you doing?!"

"Showin' off, Bunny, what else?" Scott said, snorting.

"Stop calling me that!"

Alfred suddenly sat up, his curiosity outgrowing his annoyance. "Why do you call him that?" he asked, slinging an arm across Arthur's shoulder.

"Oh, when he was a bairn he had this wee golden hat with long ears that made him look like a cute baby bunny. Was great target practice fer the real thing." Scott mimicked shooting a bow and laughed.

"Y-You shot at him?" Alfred's arms tightened around the Brit's body. Arthur, who had gone red, tried to protest but when Alfred's grip tightened anything coming out of his mouth trailed off into a squeak.

"Poofter ran like the blazes. We never did manage t'land a hit on him."

Arthur finally managed to get an arm free of Alfred's one-armed hug. "I just called to remind you to come pick me up on Sunday!" he said quickly, and then closed the call.

"Aww, Artie!" Alfred pouted. "Why'd ya do that?"

"What, so you and he can go on embarrassing me? I think not." Arthur said haughtily, shutting off the laptop and with slight difficulty placing it on the table.

"It was cute, some of the stuff... _Bunny_."

Arthur whacked him. "Don't you even bloody dare call me that, Alfred." he threatened, though he had a feeling that the blasted name would stick.

Alfred just laughed and dodged the hit. He hugged Arthur tightly again and giggled into his ear.

"Oh belt up and shove off for a tick. We have to get under the covers somehow." Arthur muttered, attempting to push him away.

"Yessir!" Alfred let go of him briefly to get under the covers and then tugged him under, flinging the blanket over them to plunge them into darkness. He wriggled in very close and peppered Arthur with kisses until he found his nose.

Arthur squirmed and chuckled a bit. "Alfred! Honestly, you're like a bit puppy sometimes!"

Alfred laughed and pulled the covers down to expose their faces. "If I'm a puppy, then you're a bunny~!" He stuck his tongue out. "Do you still have the hat?"

"I think I might... No, don't get any ideas!"

"Too late!" Alfred sang, nuzzling to his neck again.

Arthur pushed him away. "Alfred..." he began seriously. "All joking aside, we do have to talk."

Alfred froze. Those were probably the worst words in human history to hear, especially when one was in a relationship. "What? About what?"

"We're in a relationship now, yes?" Arthur asked quietly.

"No shit, Artie. If that's what you were worried about, 'course we're boyfriends-"

"N-No, that's not- well, alright, perhaps a bit- but Alfred, I'm leaving. Tomorrow. Are you willing to commit to a long-distance relationship?"

"...That's a stupid question. Of course I am! You've got a Skype, and I can make one. I know it won't be the same as actually seeing and touching each other, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"Yes-"

"Oh! And I'm pretty sure they'll still let me sign up to go over to England for the second part of the exchange, that is if you want me to come-"

Arthur managed to shut him up with a kiss. "Idiot." he murmured once he pulled away. "Of course I'd be happy to have you. That is, if you think you'd survive with my siblings."

"Challenge accepted." Alfred said smugly, licking his lips. "S'there anything else on your mind?"

"No..."

"Great!" Alfred hugged him and brought the smaller boy closer to his chest, burying his nose in Arthur's sandy hair. "Night, Artie."

Arthur blushed at first at the closeness, but a few seconds later he relaxed and felt himself drifting off. "Good night, love."

Alfred opened his eyes. "You called me 'love'." he said happily.

"That I did." Arthur replied, amused. "It's a term of endearment, a pet name."

"It's nice." Alfred murmured. "Night.

"Good night."

"No 'love'?"

Arthur lightly butted his head against Alfred's chest. "Belt up and sleep."

"Fine, fine. Night."

The Brit didn't bother replying, instead pressing a light kiss to Alfred's skin before falling asleep. He woke first the next morning and found himself still in an embrace. He pushed upwards a bit until he was level with the American's face and woke him with a kiss.

"Mmm- g'morning, Artie." Alfred said, opening his eyes to look at him. He smiled.

"Good morning." Arthur gave him a small smile back, and then gestured to the arms around him. "Get up, I have to pack now. Since you so kindly prevented me from doing so yesterday."

Alfred grudgingly let him go and sat up, stretching. "Fine, fine. I'll go get dressed, see ya in a bit."

Once he was left alone, Arthur quickly dressed in fresh clothes, did his business in the bathroom, and then wasted no time in getting started. He was halfway through refolding all of his clothing articles when Alfred came barging back into the room.

"You coulda told me it was six-thirty in the morning!" he said, collapsing onto the bed- which was already made. Luckily, he avoided landing on any of the clothing piles.

"What time did you expect it to be?" Arthur asked, not even glancing up from his work.

"A more reasonable time! Like nine or ten or something." Alfred shot back.

"This is a perfectly reasonable time." Arthur told him flatly. "Now come on and help me. The quicker we get it done, the more time we'll have later."

"Oh, and do you have a plan of what to do during that time?" Alfred asked, sidling up to him and placing his hands on the other boy's hips.

"You've gotten quite touchy, haven't you?"

"S'that a problem? You're just so cute~!"

"S-Shut up, I am not." Arthur pulled away from him, flustered. "Make yourself useful and empty out my suitcase the rest of the way, would you?"

Alfred nodded and went over to the suitcase. He opened it and then turned it upside down, letting everything inside spill out onto the floor. "There ya go! It's empty!"

"Careful, there's some valuable stuff in there!" Arthur cried, throwing himself forward to try and catch some of the objects. He sat up holding a thick book.

"Valuable? What, like that?" Alfred pointed to it.

"Yes! It's valuable to me."

"What is it?"

Arthur showed it to him. "A collection of my favorite Shakespeare plays. 'Romeo and Juliet', of course, alongside 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Hamlet', 'Macbeth' and 'Twelfth Night'."

Alfred stared at the book like it was some sort of slimy thing. "Uhh, yeah...sounds very valuable.

"It is!" Arthur whacked him with it. He righted the suitcase and started to repack it, occasionally asking Alfred to pass him something. He placed the shot glass collection in the middle so that the clothes would cushion it and keep the glass from breaking. As he was nearing the top, he ran into a problem. "Damnit!" he swore, hitting the case frustratedly.

"What's wrong?" Alfred asked, coming to kneel beside him.

"I can't bloody fit everything!"

"...Oh." Alfred snickered a bit. "Packed too many books, huh?"

Arthur turned a bit red. "I thought I'd be more bored than I turned out to be."

"Well...you could leave one here, right?" Seeing the look on Arthur's face, Alfred quickly added on to the previous statement. "And when I come in a few weeks, I can bring it to you."

"I...I suppose..." Arthur ran a fingertip down the spine of the Shakespeare book, thinking heavily. He glanced up at Alfred and made a decision. Standing, he grabbed a pen and wrote something on the inside of the front cover. "Here." he muttered, handing it over. "Keep it."

Alfred took it gently and opened it to read what the other had written. He was curious.

_Alfred,_

_Shakespeare's not such a bad guy if you give him a shot. I hope you think of me when you look at this. I love you._

_Arthur Kirkland_

The name was signed in elegant, flourishing font. Alfred glanced up when he was done reading the note to find Arthur watching him and blushing heavily.

"I- Thanks, Artie." Alfred reached out and hugged him. "I love you too." he whispered into the Brit's ear. "It'll work out, don't worry."

Arthur leaned into the hug for a brief moment, and then pulled away. "Let's get finished, then."

They were done half an hour later. Alfred took the suitcase down to the door, and they spent the remainder of the time before they had to leave for the airport talking and laughing with Evelyn and Matthew. Arthur grew a little somber when he realized how much he'd gotten used to the atmosphere in the American house. It was very different than his own home. And he thought he might actually miss it.

But the time to leave eventually came, and they had to set off. The airport was crowded, but it being Maine and late March, it wasn't that bad. They sent off Arthur's luggage, but hesitated before letting the Brit pass through security. Matthew and Evelyn said quick goodbyes and gave him light hugs, and then moved off a safe distance to give Arthur and Alfred some time alone.

"It was real nice having you here, Artie." Alfred started, moving in close and hugging the smaller boy tightly against him. "I'm glad my mom made me do this."

Arthur hugged him back, his hands tingling with the warmth coming off of Alfred. "It was a pleasure to be here. I'm glad my parents- well they forced me, but it was worth it." he murmured, pressing a light kiss to the American's neck.

Alfred's eyes widened, and he leaned down to discreetly kiss Arthur on the lips. "I'm gonna miss you." he whispered when he pulled away.

"You're  _going to_  see me soon, love. You can last three weeks."

"But that's the problem!" Alfred complained, but flushed happily at the pet name. "It's three whole weeks! And they haven't told me I can go ye-"

"You  _will_  see me." Arthur told him firmly. "One way or another."

Alfred smiled a bit. "Okay, Arthur. I'll wait."

"That's the spirit." Arthur pecked him on the cheek, either forgetting or simply not caring they were in public, and then glanced around for the time. "Let me go now, Alfred, I have to get going."

Alfred clung to him even tighter for a moment, and then reluctantly let him go. As he withdrew his arms, he quickly showed Arthur the developed picture of them in New York before sticking it into the Brit's chest pocket, right over his heart. "Bye, Artie." he said, and his voice cracked a bit. His vision went oddly blurry, and he blinked rapidly to clear it.

"Heroes don't cry, Alfred." Arthur told him gently, reaching up to brush the tears away. He took a folded piece of paper from his pants pocket and pressed it into Alfred's hand. "My Skype information. Send me a message when you make a profile. Good bye, love. Remember, three weeks." He smiled and walked away.

Blue eyes watched him until he was gone. Alfred was also smiling, but his was a little forced. Once Arthur was out of sight, the smile dropped and he sighed.

Three weeks.

He could do it.

He would wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first put this up on ff.net and dA, I considered writing a sequel. I still dunno if I should, I haven't had too much inspiration for it, but if a lot of people want it then I guess I can try and come up with something. What do you guys think?


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